Second Chances
by leara the demon brat
Summary: Harry dies and goes back to fix his past to have a chance at a better future. Armed with ancient magic and knowledge, he will make it right. But will a second prophecy ruin all of his plans? AD/MW/RW/GW bashing Harry/Multi, Powerful-Harry, Smart-Harry. Rating for language and scenes to come.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! So, I would not consider this a a response to the Don't Fear the Reaper challenge. You are welcome to think it is, but that is entirely up to you. This will be a Harry/Multi fic. I will reveal who they are as the chapters progress.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, the only character I created so far is Leara. Otherwise, I own nothing.

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"Harry Potter?" Harry opened his eyes looking around. The room he was in was pure white. After a moment the bright white was hurting his eyes. He took a few breaths to calm down before opening them again. "Harry Potter?" He turned to see a young woman at a desk. He wondered why he hadn't noticed her before.

"Yes? That's me." He said standing. His war torn clothes had been replaced by a navy blue robe. Finally something that wasn't pure white.

"Fourth door on the left, and, well, good luck." She said as a pointed to a hallway. "Off you go Mr. Potter." With a shrug he walked down the hall, when he came upon the door he knocked. After being bid to enter by another woman's voice he walked in.

"Have a seat. I will be with you in a-" said a young woman from the desk. She was half buried by scrolls. She looked up at him. "No. No. No!" She stood pushing him into a chair. "Do you hate me Harry? Are you trying to get me fired? Do you want me to bring dishonor to my family?"

"I don't know you, so I can't hate you." He said. "Same can be said for getting you fired." He looked around curiously. "Where am I exactly? I remember facing Tom-"

"Yeah, he killed you." she went over to her desk dropping into the chair. She sifted through the scrolls before turning to a wall of books. "Harry Potter." A book came off the wall landing in her hand. "Lets see, right, so you have been killed by Tom Riddle twelve times, Albus Dumbledore has killed you nine times, Ron Weasley four times, Vernon Dursley has killed you an equal four times. In total you have died twenty-nine times. Each one long before your destined time."

"Wait, how is that possible?" Harry asked.

"Okay, let me start from the beginning. My name is Leara. I am your soul manager, in your world I suppose I would be called a grim reaper. With me so far?" she asked. Harry simply nods letting her continue. "Good, you are dead. You have died twenty-nine times for various reasons. What I have in my hand is your Book of Life. Basically it is your story." she looked around. "Ah, here we go, Abigail Faith." Another book came off the wall. Harry could hear the scratching of a quill coming from the book. "This person's story is still being written." She cast it back onto the shelf before showing Harry his book, there was no sound coming from it. There were a lot of blank pages. "Your book is unfinished. Meaning you have not completed your destiny. When a- watch carefully Harry." She pointed to a book, the scratching stopped and the book turned to stone then vanished. "If you had died when you were suppose to," She picked up a scroll. "At the ripe old age of four hundred and seventeen, your book would do he same thing." He handed her his book back and looked around at the other books. "Each time you have died you come here and we have the same conversation. I wipe your memories then send you back to try again."

"Okay, so now what? By the way your talking my chances have run out." Harry said with a sigh.

"Not quite, you have one more chance. I managed to cash in a few IOU's last time you were here, just in case. This time however you are going back as far as I can send you." She explained sifting through the scrolls again. "Ah Ha! Here it is." She took out a scroll smiling. "By signing this contract you accept that this is your last chance. This will allow me to bypass the memory wipe. You will go back with all of the knowledge you have gained up to this point. As a bonus I can give you nudges in the right direction once in a while. You are allowed to tell one person about the future you came from. I would recommend one of your soul mates. Only after being absolutely sure the secret will be protected." Leara sifted through the scrolls looking for something. Finally she stood stepping away from the desk. "Everything not involving Harry Potter get off my desk." she ordered. The scrolls sorted themselves and moved into empty holes in the walls until only four scrolls remained.

"I love magic." Harry said. "Okay, for a moment let's say I believe all of this. Tell me everything I need to know in order not to face your wrath."

"Fine." She opened a scroll. Glancing at it. "According to this your destiny is to go to Hogwarts, meet your soulmates, stop the Blood War, have a lot of children, and die peacefully in your sleep with your wives. Doesn't sound too bad does it?"

"No, not bad at all. Now, you said soulmates? And Wives? Did you mean to say those as multiple?" Harry asked. "I mean, a person only has one soulmate, right?"

"Normally yes. But Harry James Potter is not normal, is he?" she said with a laugh. "I meant what I said. You have four soulmates." A shadow pulled away from the wall forming a figure by Leara. It leaved down seeming to whisper in her ear. "Yes, thank you. I will take care of it shortly." The shadow figure nods once before shrinking back where it came from.

"Suddenly I am afraid to ask." Harry said. "Bad news I'm guessing?"

"You could say that. Two of your soulmates just crossed over into the waiting room. No, I cant let you see them. Mostly because they need to meet with their own soul manager. And by the time they have done that I will have already sent you back. I do not know if they are on their last chance or not, besides, we are not allowed to get involved with other manager's souls."

"Poor Ginny. I hope she wasn't one of them. She deserves better than that." Harry said. Leara looked at him sadly.

"Harry, I plan on covering this later, But Ginerva Weasley was not meant for you." Leara said. "Now, you have multiple soulmates because of Ronald Weasley." Leara stood again taking a book from the shelf placing it on the desk. Once she opened it she turned back to the shelves. "I am sending you back to July 24th 1991. I am doing this to give you a little time to study before being introduced to the magical world. With me so far?" All of a sudden she pulled a book off the shelf tossing it behind her. It landed on the open book and vanished.

"What the-?" Harry asked. Leara turned to look at him. "The book you tossed just vanished."

"Of course it did. The book on the desk is a blank. It will absorb and copy all of the contents of any other book it touches. In a minute it will spit the other one back out." she started picking through the other books tossing them over her shoulder into a pile on the blank book. "Now, when you get back you will find this book in your cupboard. Your muggle relatives wont be able to see it. Once you have a wand use it to pierce your finger and put a drop of blood on it. That way only you can read its contents. Unless you add someones blood." one by one the book at the bottom vanished. On the other side of the desk another pile appeared. It was the books that had already been copied.

"You said that the Headmaster killed me a few times?" Leara hung her head sighing. Harry wondered if he had said something wrong. "And what about Ron?"

"Harry, first of all I need you to understand something very important." Leara turned to him and leaned against her desk. "I want to see you succeed at this. I want you to grow really old with your wives and have lots of great grandchildren. In order for me to help you, I need you to trust me."

"Okay, I can't say I fully understand what's going on but I would be a fool not to trust you. You haven't exactly given me a reason not to." Harry said. "But I want the truth."

"Always Harry." She went back to the other side of her desk looking out the window. "Albus Dumbledore is, without a doubt, a powerful wizard. I will not deny that. What I will tell you, is that he climbed a mountain of bodies to get to where he wanted to be. Your parents were among them." she turned to face him. "He may not have killed them Harry, but he is part of the reason they died." She could tell Harry was struggling to process or accept what she had said. "Albus Dumbledore is not the Leader of the Light everyone thinks he is. I do not know what truly caused him to break, but I know it started with an idea. 'The Greater Good' they called it."

"Do you have another of those blank books? I think this is the kind of thing I should be taking notes on." Leara took out another book from the shelf handing it to him with a muggle pen. "Thank you." he took a moment writing everything down. "I had heard him say that line before, doesn't it mean to sacrifice the one to save the many?"

"It is close. It means that no matter the cost, the end result is the only thing that matters." Leara reached up to a shelf taking down a small box. Placing it on the desk. "You know the prophecy, think about it very carefully for a few moments while I find a few more books." she tossed a few more books into the pile. Harry wrote out the prophecy into his book word for word. "I know its confusing, but that prophecy holds a lot of answers. You're whole life has been dictated by those words."

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies." Harry recited.

"Right, so lets break this down a bit shall we?" Leara said with a smile as she went to lean on the desk again. "I know you think Divination is a rubbish class but given your situation there are some things you need to know. For example, did you know there are two kinds of prophecy?"

"No. All we learned about was tea leaves, crystal balls, and interpreting dreams." Harry said looking up from the book.

"Okay, one kind of prophecy is really rare. There is only one or two every few hundred years. Those are called Pure prophecies. The other kind is Self-fulfilling, meaning that an action or situation will cause it to become active." She said. Harry was nodding as he wrote down everything she said. "You know, I think I have something you will find useful. It's a magical skill." She touched his forehead passing her skill to him, there was a tingling from his temple down to his hand. "There, now you can set the book and pen down and the pen will still write your thoughts or you can have it write what we say as a script, word for word."

"That will be useful, especially in classes." Harry said with a smile. "Thank you. I am normally rubbish at note taking."

"I noticed. The pen I gave you will go inside your notebook to go back with you. It will never run out of ink." she said. "Ah! I knew I was missing one." She beckoned a book off the top shelf with her finger. It fluttered for a moment but didn't move. "Come on now. Don't be so stubborn."

"What kind of book is that?" Harry asked. "It looks really old."

"It is, this book was the blank book the higher-ups gave Merlin Emrys. I figure you could use it's contents to understand magic better. He brought it back here when he reached the end of his life. I was still a new soul manager at the time. He said that I would know what to do with it when the time came. I think this is what he meant. All of his notes, his life's research lies within its pages." Leara said. "What do you think?" She asked the book. It flew down to Harry like a bird dropping into his hands. "Astounding. Looks like it doesn't want to be copied. You will take the original with you."

"Thank you." He said to the book, admittedly feeling a little foolish. "I will not dishonor what has been given to me."

"I think, Harry, that you will do just fine. Now, back on topic. The prophecy, the one about you is considered Self-fulfilling. It means that something was done to mark you as the Dark Tosser's equal." Harry put his fingertips to his scar gently. "I don't think so Harry. This realm is full of gossips, it had come to my attention that Tom Riddle may not be the 'Dark Lord' from the prophecy. Don't get me wrong, you do have to beat him. There just may be someone else you have to worry about as well."

"You mean Dumbledore?" Harry said with a sigh. "I get it, I suppose part of me always knew there was something wrong with things, but I always just chalked it up to knowing nothing about magic."

"Okay? Why don't you explain and I will try to fill in the blanks?" Leara said. "It is always better to have someone to bounce ideas off."

"Well, first year for example. Who tells a school full of children that an area is forbidden? He was practically inviting people to investigate it. Each of the challenges were faced by three first year students. I would like to think it was just a way to protect the stone but if that was the case it should not have been that easy to get it from the mirror." He explained. "If he didn't want people poking around he should have just asked Hogwarts to seal the area."

"So what do you think it was meant for?" Leara asked. She was impressed with his organized train of thought.

"I think it was a test for me. Same with second year. He was there when the chamber opened the first time. He knew Hagrid was innocent because Hagrid would have explained Aragog to him. He had to know that Tom opened it while he was in school. The portraits and ghosts are his spies. Anytime the basilisk came out of the pipes to attack someone it had to be seen by something. I know for a fact that anything with a Dark Magic taint is recognized by the schools wards, Hermione said so herself. He had to know when Ginny brought in the diary." Harry paused to take a breath. Seeing the pen writing away he stood pacing a bit.

"Right, and since he already suspected Tom had been looking for a way to be immortal he would have researched Horcruxes." Leara said. "Keep going, I like where this is going."

"He had to know that Lockhart was a fraud. I am glad of the horcrux in my head, it allowed me to speak parseltongue. I suspect Fawkes brought the sorting hat to me because I asked for help." Harry looked at the book before continuing the pacing.

"The soul fragment in your head was not the cause of your parseltongue ability, you got that from the Black side of your family. You were born with it." She said.

"Good to know. Third year Sirius escapes and starts hunting for Peter. I am told he is hunting me down because he betrayed my parents. From what I have heard he never had a trial. So no one ever knew the truth about what happened." Harry stopped and sat down thinking. "I would kill for something to eat. Is it possible for the dead to be hungry?"

"Well, considering you are not entirely dead, yeah. It is. Dobby?" A eager little house elf appeared.

"DOBBY!" Harry threw himself at the little elf hugging him tightly. He looked up at Leara with tears pouring down his cheeks. "I don't care how, but thank you!" He pulled away from the little elf wiping his own tears away. "I never meant for you to get hurt Dobby. I promise."

"It was Dobby's own fault. Dobby ignored his promise to The Great Harry Potter." He said.

"What do you mean?" Harry thought back to second year. "Oh Dobby! I didn't mean to force you to make such a promise. I did not realize what it would mean to you."

"What promise is he talking about Harry?" Leara asked.

"Just after Lucius Malfoy tried to attack me I made Dobby promise not to try to save me again. Magic has a strange way of keeping us to our promises." He said. Looking at his book he smiled seeing the pen make a note about promises and elves.

"I see, Dobby, Harry needs something to eat. Think you can find something for him? Something small though. He has a long trip ahead of him and it wont be pleasant on a full stomach." Dobby thought for a moment before nodding to Leara and popping away. "I quite like that little elf. I will give you a hint though. If you bond with him, I do not see him dying. Except of old age of course. Not to mention he will be a great asset to you later." Dobby popped back in with a plate of ham sandwiches and iced tea.

"Dobby, I doubt you will remember this when I get back. I promise to bond with you. I have a feeling that's what you wanted all along. I was just too much of a dunce to realize it. Can you forgive me?" Harry said hugging the elf one more time.

"You have done nothing to be needing forgiveness. Dobby is honored to help The Great Harry Potter." Dobby said. "I need to go back now. I will see you again soon." He snapped and popped away again.

"The thing you should know about house elves Harry, they have a magic that even Lord Death can not figure out." Leara said. She picked up a sandwich and bit into it with a happy sigh. "I have missed the taste of food."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "Were you a- um, living person?" he struggled to figure out the correct way of saying it.

"Yes, I died a very long time ago. Unlike you I only got one chance. However, I ruined my soul to the point where I could not pass the Gates of Judgment. Lord Death put me here to redeem me."

"That's not fair." Harry said munching away on the sandwich. "Is there no chance for you to try again?"

"No, my soul didn't have a Greater Purpose." She said with a smile. "Not like you. Let's get back to work shall we?"

"I guess, but I still don't like it." He said. "Okay, I get that Dumbledore can't be trusted. Do you really think he is a Dark Wizard?"

"It is possible. The only way to know is to destroy Tom Riddle, then look at the prophecy. If it is still glowing then it is not complete." Harry nods accepting her words. "Now, lets work on the Weasley family." Harry let out a disappointed sigh. "Not all of them are against you. Fred and George are loyal to you. William and Charlie would be too if they knew about their mother's crimes against you."

"So that leaves, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny. What about Percy?" Harry asked. "I mean, he is a prat but I don't think he is that bad."

"no, Percival is just obsessed with his own success. His only crime is climbing over his family to achieve his success." She grabbed another sandwich and picked up a scroll looking at it. "So, Ronald killed you four times. Twice in fits of jealous rage, once because he crashed that stupid flying car. Personally I think he did it on purpose. There is one time that caused us a lot of extra problems. How he managed to learn it I will never know. Ronald tried to annihilate your soul. What he ended up doing was shredding it instead. Now, in doing that your soul split off in a million different directions. Took us quite a while to collect as much as we did. However four pieces of your soul had found their way into four young ladies."

"My soulmates?" Harry asked. "That's why I have so many."

"Right. Now, he was getting paid money, candy, and good grades to spy on you. I'm sure you can guess the mastermind behind that." Harry nods. "He was born jealous of everyone and everything they had. When it came to you it was a lot worse. You had money, fame, and power."

"I guess, but he had something I would give all of that up for." Harry said looking up to the ceiling. "He had a mother and father, siblings who loved him, and a loving home to return to." He took a deep breath relaxing for a moment. "Okay, so I avoid making friends with the prat. Mrs. Weasley?"

"That woman could have been a world renowned potions mistress if she didn't believe a woman's place was in the home caring for the children. She wanted the perfect family and prestige." Leara sat on the edge of the desk. "She got the family she wanted through potions and charms, but the potions fried Arthur's brain to the point he would never raise above where he was. She thought he would be Minister for Magic one day. She accepted the results of what she did. When Ginerva was born she was brainwashed to think like her mother. She planned on getting her family the same way her mother did. Her target was one Harry James Potter."

"So she planned on potioning me?"

"Not just planned it, she did it. Third year on she was potioning you on top of the ones Molly was giving Ron to dose you with. Those combined with the ones Severus brewed for Dumbledore make your core a lot weaker than it should have been." Leara turned to see a golden scroll appear on the desk. "Oh hell."

"I'm going to guess that gold scrolls are important." Leara looked at Harry barely able to nod.

"Think of them like divine intervention." She opened it with shaky hands. "Well, that's not too bad. Seems one of your soulmates who died is also on their last chance. She will be sent back with her memories. However I am not allowed to tell you who she is." She smiled. "That means you can pick someone else to know about what happened."

"Hmm, can I pick someone who has already died? What I mean-" He sighs. "You are going to think I am crazy. Completely off my rocker. I want Severus Snape to retain his memories."

"Okay? I would be willing to listen to your reason before I deny or approve it." She said sipping on a glass of iced tea. "But I want you to really think about it. He was brewing the loyalty and admiration potions you were dosed with since your first meal at Hogwarts."

"True, but he also saved my life more times than I know. Not once has he lied to me. Not once did he give me false hope. He hated me because of my father, granted I never did anything to prove I was not his exact copy." He stood looking around. "It would be so much easier if I could talk to him." Dobby popped into the room with none other than Severus Tobias Snape.

"Potter, is this your elf?" Harry bent over laughing. "I do not see what is so damned funny Potter."

"Well done Dobby. Thank you. Next time though, let me ask for him to be brought to me." Harry said once he finally calmed down. Dobby only shrugged and vanished.

"Severus Snape, where were you exactly before that lovable house elf grabbed you?" Leara asked.

"I was in a conversation with some of the greatest potions masters in history. I demand to be returned there." He said with a snarl.

"No." Harry said plainly. "I have something to offer you. Something I think you will find both useful, and perhaps profitable in the process."

"No harm in listening I guess." Snape said sitting down. "Well Mr. Potter?"

"I am on my last chance. Meaning I am going back with my memories intact. I had planned on telling one of my soulmates my secret but two of them have died and entered this place. One of them is also on her last chance and will return with her memories. I am not allowed to know who she is until she approaches me. Given that she is going to know everything, I am allowed to tell one other person. I want it to be you." Severus stared at Harry in shock.

"What Harry is offering you is a chance to rewrite the last seven years. Not everyone gets that chance."Leara explained.

"Why me?" Severus asked. "Considering you are here then you know about Albus, and even the Weasley family. Which means you also know I was brewing the potions the headmaster dosed you with."

"Exactly, which attests to your skill as a potions master. Going back with your memories means that you can avoid potentially life ending issues. It would give us time to find a way to take that mark off your arm." Harry said. "Besides, despite what you may think of me, I am not a carbon copy of my father. He was an arse. I may attract trouble, and I may break the rules, but I am not him. You have to agree to that before Leara agrees or denies my idea."

"As much as it pains me to admit, I haven't thought of you as James's copy in three years. When I went to Godric's Hollow that night and found their bodies," he turned his head away. "I swore to your mother I wouldn't fail you like I did her. For years she was the only friend I had, and I betrayed her."

"Then help me. Help me make things right." Harry pleaded. "I can't- I can't do it without help. You know that. If you agree to help me then I will do whatever I can to help you."

"Which is a lot. If Harry claims all of his inheritance on his 11th birthday then he has the power to protect you." Leara stated. "I am sending him back to July 24th 1991. This will allow him a week to study and prepare before going to Diagon Alley. The only problem is that Dumbledore will have Hagrid bring Harry to do his shopping."

"I have no problems with the half-giant, but he sticks out like a sore thumb. If this works I will meet Potter at Gringotts and take care of things from there. Now, Mr. Potter, you mentioned profit?"

"Right, in my second year I killed a basilisk with the sword. Meaning I can legally claim the corpse. Had I known about it, I would have done it a lot earlier. All potions ingredients will go to you. To get dis of the Horcruxes we will use the fangs." Harry explained. "I had been looking forward to potions until you singled me out in my first class, believe it or not I was writing down your every word."

"The goblins would be best for rendering the corpse. You could offer the meat to them to cover the rendering costs. I would advise having the skin made into armor. The bones are not used in much." Severus said thinking about it. "The potions would turn a decent profit."

"Plus half the profits gained from the meat. I would however require your measurements for one of the sets of armor." Harry said. "There is one other stipulation about your memories."

"I am listening." Severus said. He had already planned his entire future in a matter of minutes. He would honor his promise to Lily.

"There is no doubt you earned your title, but your teaching is not the greatest. I would ask that you spend the first two weeks teaching proper cutting, safety, and storage. Telling students that the instructions are on the board and a time limit is not teaching. I highly doubt Professor Slughorn taught you that way." Severus wanted to deny his request, but he knew it would save on a lot of accidents.

"Very well, I agree to your conditions. I will help you where ever I can. I know enough about your inheritance to know you can protect me. In addition, in the week you are studying, I will prepare potions to help you grow to where you belong for your age." Severus knew the boy was far to small for his age. "I do, however, have a condition of my own. In your studying you must learn how to properly greet or dismiss other people."

"Taken care of." Leara said grabbing another book off the shelf dropping it on the blank book. "Now Harry, all you need to do is sign the contract. I have one here for Severus as well. You will not discuss what you have seen or heard here to anyone except those who are already aware. I may pop in once in a while to guide you in the right direction." with a wave of her hand the piles of books soared back where they belong. Harry picked up his pen reading over the contract carefully. He signed his name and smiled. Leara watched her pen write out another contract for Severus. After reviewing it Severus signed it.

"How will I be sent back?" Harry inquired. "We never discussed that."

"Oh, right. Sit in the chair, grab your books, your pen, and hold on tight. It's a long way down." she said with a laugh.

"Wait, down?" The floor below him turned into a black vortex. "Not fair!"

"Never said I was." As he started to sink she decided at the last moment to be nice. "I just remembered! One of your soulmates it's some Granger girl!"

"Oh hell." Severus mumbled.

"What?!" Harry looked at her in shock before he was pulled through the vortex.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry's eyes burst open and he bit his hand to keep from crying out. He could not remember being in such pain last time. Taking a moment he closed his eyes trying to focus. Sitting up slowly he realized it had been nearly a month since the incident at the reptile house. Dudley had been up most of the previous night 'claiming' to have nightmares just to have his parents dote on him. Harry remembered the beating his Uncle gave him. Looking around he found the three books, their very existence showed it had not been a dream. He took them down placing them under his blanket. Stepping from his cupboard he stretched looking back at his bedroom. It seemed strange, he did not remember it being so small.

Walking into the kitchen he tried not to laugh seeing Dudley in his Smelting's uniform. When he went to check the mail he decided to follow the old timeline. He could have simply signed it and sent it back with the owl waiting outside. Heading into the kitchen he relived the results. The next day he was given Dudley's second bedroom. With the minor piece of freedom he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as he flopped onto the bed.

Taking out his books he started with the one Leara had been using to copy numerous others. "Let's see, first thing I need to do is deal with the goblins." He opened the book to find a note written on the first page.

Harry,

To use this book you need to flip this page and say,

'I need information on (blank)'

Good Luck

Leara

Harry chuckled and flipped the page. "I need information on guidelines to dealing with Goblins." He watched as ink bled onto the page listing an index of sorts. "Hmm, not detailed enough. I need information on handling conversations with Goblins." The ink faded away replaced by all of the information he needs. "Much better." He set to reading deciding to use his newfound freedom to its fullest.

Nearly a week later his Uncle finally lost his mind and moved them far away to the shack on the island. Harry sat by the dying fire watching Dudley's watch count away the seconds. He had already packed up what little he was taking, the books and a change of clothes. It was nearly half an hour until Hagrid would arrive to pick him up at midnight. He was about to slip off to sleep until he heard the telltale pop of apparation. Looking out he was surprised to see a man standing there in the wind and the rain. He pulled the door open running out to Severus Snape. "Mr. Potter, I am here to personally invite you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The professor shouted over the wind.

"I accept!" Severus grinned wrapping part of his cloak around the boy vanishing with him. Rubeus Hagrid would arrive later to find the door wide open and no Harry Potter to be found.

"I told you I would meet you at Diagon Alley, but I couldn't wait another night. There is a bathroom upstairs and a bedroom to the left. Go get some sleep. There is still plenty of time before we head for Diagon Alley." He was surprised when Harry launched forward hugging the snarky potions master. "Yes, well. Off you go, there are clean dry clothes on the shelf in the bathroom. I will wake you for breakfast." Harry clung to him for another few moments before pulling away.

"I-I'm sorry Professor. No idea where that came from." Harry tried to explain. "Thank you. Really. Thank you." He headed up to his assigned room stopping there first to drop off his books. Stuffing them under his pillow he stopped for a moment. "I wonder." looking at his hand he tried to feel his magic. " _Lumos_ " He was surprised to find a small orb of light form in the palm of his hand. He used it to light his way out into the hall.

"Mr. Potter, after tomorrow we will not be staying in this house. I suppose in your studying you learned that all noble-born have a flat in London?"

"Yes sir. I presume that is where we will be staying?" He asked not bothering to hide the orb.

"Indeed. Don't worry about using magic here. It is my house so they will simply think it I am doing it. When you become emancipated you will be free to use magic, within reason of course. I will review the first and second year spells with you, both with a wand and without." Severus said. "Now, get cleaned up and get some sleep. There is a lot to do tomorrow." Harry nods and heads off to the bathroom. After a good hot shower and putting on the first clothes that, surprising, fit him perfectly he went to bed.

* * *

Far away Albus Dumbledore was in a bind. Harry Potter was missing. Fawkes sang softly in an attempt to comfort his friend. "Thank you Fawkes, but I do not think even your songs will help me this time. Harry has to be found. He is important." Albus began pacing trying to decide how best to find the boy. He would spent most of the night pacing.

* * *

In the morning Harry woke to the door opening. War instinct caused him to reach under his pillow for the wand he didn't have. "You are awake. Good." tosses a wand onto the bed. "See how this suits you." He picked it up curiously.

"It isn't like the one I had. But it will not argue with my handling it." Harry said climbing out of bed, pausing for a moment he reached under the pillows pulling out his books. Touching the wand to his finger he made a small cut letting a drop of blood hit each one of them binding them to him.

"You will keep that one on you at all times until we go to get you a proper wand. Make no mistake Mr. Potter, you will get the wand from Ollivander. You need it for the future, but you will also receive a wand from a friend of mine working out of Cairo." He said stepping aside to let his charge to the bathroom. He turned to see Leara standing by the bed. "I did not expect to see you so soon."

"No, I suspect not." His years as a spy taught him to read people, and something was wrong with the Reaper.

"Something I should be concerned about?" He asked. Leara looked at him with a sigh.

"I wanted to let you know to be careful taking him to the bank, you need to be there right as it opens. Dumbledore is going to attempt blocking him from claiming his birthright. I would advise skipping breakfast or taking something you can eat along the way." When the bathroom door opened again Leara vanished.

"Interesting indeed." He commented to himself.

"What is interesting sir?" Harry asked. He had already taken a shower and was wearing the clothes hat had been laid out for him. "Where did you get these clothes sir? They fit perfectly."

"Whistle took your measurements while you were sleeping a few nights ago. Yes Mr. Potter I have a house elf. We need to hurry, we may run into some trouble." Harry nods and he went to grab the books. "I highly doubt you will be needing those Potter."

"I know Sir. Believe it or not I feel like I should have them. Like somehow it is important to take them with me." Harry said with a sigh. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Like a pull on your magic or a nudge?" Harry thought about it closing his eyes. "Focus on the feeling itself and find where it is coming from." Severus explained.

"It's a nudge. What do you want to bet it's from Leara?" Harry said opening his eyes. "She did say she would try to nudge me in the right direction sometimes."

"If that is the case then you will take all three of them, and the pen. Just to be safe." Severus watched Harry pull them from under the pillow. Due to the magic around them all he saw were a muggle notebook, and two others that resembled textbooks. "Whistle?" A house elf wearing a black tee shirt and denim shorts appeared.

"Sir?" She asked. She turned to Harry with a smile. "Oh! Mr. Snape's guest looks much better in good clothes. Much better, yes."

"Thank you Whistle. Before I go to Hogwarts I would like to talk to you about elf magic." Harry said. "I find it fascinating."

"Potter, there is time for that later. Whistle, bring me the tan leather bag I used to use for gathering. Then make breakfast into something to be eaten with one hand. It seems we will be heading out earlier than I planned." Severus requested. Whistle looked at him, it was almost like she was disappointed. After a moment she popped away causing him to sigh. "She tends to mother me when I am home." he turns heading down to the kitchen. "She does not like when I eat and run. While at Hogwarts you can summon her. She normally does not have much to do other than clean my quarters."

"Thank you Sir. I think it is good that you have someone looking after you. I know when Hermione gets lost in studying or some sort of project she tends to forget to eat or sleep. Around exams it was always worse. I don't remember how many times I had to use the cloak to get her back to the tower." He picked up what looked like a breakfast burrito. "She works fast." He suddenly had a thought. "Whistle?" The little elf popped up from behind the counter with the leather bag. She brought it over to the table. "Was there any bacon left?" Severus gave him a questioning look, thinking back he remembered Harry giving his owl bacon when she delivered something. Or just because she came to visit him. Whistle wrapped up a few strips in a paper towel and charmed it so no grease would get through.

"Now can we go?" Severus inquired. Harry nods sliding the books and bacon into the bag clipping it closed. Whistle gave them both cloaks and Harry slid his temporary wand into the sleeve. With a nod of approval from Severus he grabbed Harry by the shoulder vanishing with him.

"Always in a hurry they is. Rush rush rush." Whistle said with a smile. She set to cleaning up from breakfast before working on a cake for the guest of her Master.

* * *

"Everything is going according to plan" Leara said to herself as she entered her office. Deciding to clear off her desk she put everything away by hand. When she turned back to the desk there was a golden scroll. "Shit." opening it slowly she read the contents of divine intervention. "No." rereading it a few times it started to sink it. "BLOODY FUCKING HELL! POTTER! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU MYSELF!"

* * *

Being still early Diagon Alley was mostly empty. The only person they saw was a man charming brooms to sweep the street. Harry unconsciously grabbed Severus's cloak. In his mind he was battle ready from the war, but his small fragile body was full of fear. Severus stopped and turned to him. "Mr. Potter- No. Harry." Harry looked up at him suddenly feeling very small. "I promised you I would help you. That means protecting you until you can do it yourself. You should know that Leara sent me back further than you. I was sent back almost three months ago. I went back that far so I could review my own memories. I became the man your father was. I was cold and cruel. I turned a blind eye, or even encouraged the bullying. For that I am sorry. I can not promise that the man I was will not come through once in a while. When those times happen, do not hesitate to call me on it, in private of course."

"I had noticed a difference. I thought it was simply because you were glad for a second chance. I promise to call you out on being a snarky arse, if you promise to keep me from making an arse of myself. I have studied from the collection book Leara made for me, but experiencing something and reading about it are two different things." Harry said holding his hand out. "Do we have a deal?"

"Harry." For a moment Severus saw the young man he encountered in the Reaper's office. Shaking the boy's hand he nods. "It is a deal."

"Good, let's go shake up the world. Shall we?" Harry said with a smile.

"Indeed." Severus brought him to the huge white building. Once inside he pulled Harry with him into the shadow of a pillar. "Shit, we are too late." Albus Dumbledore was standing at the podium of the head teller.

"Not quite." Harry ripped a page from his note book writing something out in a strange language. "I am not sure I can do it properly. Can you banish this to the podium?" Severus taps it with his wand sending it away. Harry peeked around the pillar seeing the head teller reading the note. With a snap of his fingers the paper burned. "Good, I was afraid I had written that wrong."

"What language was that Harry?" Severus asked. "I know I've seen it before but I can not remember where."

"Gobbledygook. Goblin language, turns out I can read it fairly easily. That was my first time writing it though." Harry said. "Some of the books she copied for me are in different languages. I could read all of them. The book called it an inherited ability called Affinity for Language. It covers both written and spoken language."

"Consider me impressed." Severus said. A pair of goblins walked over standing in front of them. A moment later Dumbledore stomped by in frustration. "I guess he was turned down. Come on Harry." The two guards lead them to the head teller.

"May your enemies blood ever drip from your blade Master Teller." Harry said with a bow. To Severus's surprise the goblin stood returning the bow.

"May your vault never empty Young Wizard." He sat back down. "I was rather surprised, not many wizards consider using our own language for written notices."

"Considering who was before you at the time I thought it best. I hope I spelled everything right. It was my first attempt at it." Harry said. "I think I have the ability called Affinity for Language." The head teller decided to test it by responding in Gobbledygook.

"That may be, it is only a matter of time before you learn if your theory is correct." the teller said.

"I suppose, but we have bigger problems than confirming my ability. My name is Harry James Potter. I am here to claim what is mine by birthright." Harry stated in the same tongue. Severus looked on realizing that the young man may not need his help after all.

"Harry, what did you say just now?" Severus asked. "You spoke another language there for a moment."

"That would be my fault." the teller said. "I thought to trigger his ability by speaking my own language. I was surprised to hear his response. That is quite an ability. It will serve you well if you decide to become a spell-crafter. As for your birthright, we will have to confirm your identity before going into details about that."

"I am aware of the process. As soon as my identity is confirmed I want all keys for any vault I own declared void and the keys forged. I have not asked anyone to collect money for me, nor have I given permission for anyone to hold my keys." Harry stated.

"If you are who you claim to be I will see to it myself. Follow me." he stepped down from the podium leading the pair into a maze of hallways. Once they got to a room he spoke to a goblin who was passing before leading them into the room. It was set with earth tones and a stunning table made from a stone slab that had been placed on a growing tree. The branches looked like they had been coaxed to grow around the slab holding it in place. Harry couldn't resist running his fingertips across the branches. "Quite a piece isn't it?"

"I want one." Harry said smiling. "Maybe not this big." A goblin walked with a box.

"First is an Inheritance Test. Blood tells us more than anything else. Those who claim blood magic is dark are fools." He set out a parchment and a small dagger. He put another parchment beside him with a dicta-quill. "Inheritance Test, witnesses stand as Lord Ragnok, seventh of his name and Direclaw, forth of his name."

"Bloody hell. Forgive me Lord Ragnok. I did not realize who you were. I never expected you to be working the front of the bank." Harry said. "I feel a bit like an idiot now."

"Harry?" Severus wondered.

"Lord Ragnok, seventh of his name. Also known as High King Ragnok, ruler of the Goblin Nation." Harry explained. "Unless I am wrong of course, which would make me an even bigger idiot."

"No, you are quite right. It is not often I decide to step into the front. Today seemed to be an important day to do so." Harry pondered the King's words for a moment.

"Was it a pulling feeling or a nudge?" He asked.

"As a matter a fact it was a nudge. Is it important?" Ragnok inquired.

"I am not sure yet. I think it depends on what shows up on the tests and our discussion afterword."Harry glanced over at Severus tapping the bag at his side.

"Let us continue then. Simply pierce your hand with the dagger and let three drops of blood touch the parchment. The wound will close with no scar." Harry nods picking up the dagger. Cutting into his hand. He was surprised to find it painless. Once the required blood landed on the parchment the remaining blood was pulled back into his hand and the wound closed.

"Wicked." Harry said. As he watched the blood fade away into the parchment he wondered what it was going to reveal. He did not have to wait long as words began to form on the parchment.

 **Inheritance Test Results for Harry James Potter**

 **Age: 11**

 **Blood Status: Half-blood**

 **Parents:**

 **James Charles Potter**

 **Status: Deceased**

 **Lillian Potter nee Evans**

 **Status: Deceased**

 **Claimable Titles**

 **Lord Potter – By Birth by Father**

 **Duke of Gryffindor – By Birth by Father**

 **Lord Peverell – By Birth by Father**

 **Heir Apparent Black – Claimed by Magical Godfather**

 **King of Mages – By possession of Magical Artifact**

 **Abilities:**

 **Affinity for Language**

 **Animagus Transformation (Currently blocked)**

 **Mage Sight**

 **Natural Occlumency (Currently blocked)**

"Mr. Potter, do you currently possess anything that belonged to Merlin Emrys?" Ragnok asked. Harry hesitated before reaching into his bag.

"I will show this to you on the condition that its existence remains between the four of us." Harry said.

"You have my word." Ragnok said, the gob-struck goblin beside him could only nod.

"You already know where I stand on this matter." Severus said. Harry carefully pulled out the book laying it on the table. "Forgive me Harry, this looks like a normal text book to me."

"Oh, right. I, Harry James Potter, grant permission for High King Ragnok, seventh of his name, Direclaw, forth of his name, and Severus Tobias Snape to see the truth." The book shimmered as its glamour faded away showing an ancient Grimoire. "I am afraid I can not explain how it came into my possession."

"The simple fact is, you have it. This makes you the next King of Mages." Harry looked at the book sighing.

"Just when I thought my life couldn't get more complicated." Harry sighed looking at the book. "Couldn't resist could you?" He couldn't decide if he was expecting an answer from the book or just asking the question to satisfy himself. With a shrug he put the book back in his bag.

"History tells us that Merlin took the book with him in death. Given what we know, and what we can see I know it is the truth." Ragnok stated. "I see magic in many forms. The two of you have been touched by death. Very few knew that Merlin died and was sent back to try again." Harry stiffened but relaxed when Severus touched his arm.

"I am afraid we can neither confirm or deny that information." Severus stated calmly. Harry could see that he was worried too.

"Of course, I am simply stating that anyone else with Mage Sight will be able to see it as well. There are ways to hide it, which I would advise learning. But a word of warning to Mr. Potter, you have knowledge that you should not have. You will need to come up with a cover story to explain your knowledge." Ragnok explained.

"I had not considered it. Thank you. What story was told about where I have been living for the last ten years?" Harry inquired.

"No one really knows. Do you have an idea?" Severus asked.

"Sort of, I plan on telling people I was raised by a half-blood family in the muggle world." He explained. "It would explain my knowledge of this world, and the Muggle one."

"I have to say, that is a good cover. Perhaps they died recently? It would explain why you claimed your titles early." Ragnok said looking at the results of the test. "As for Mr. Potter claiming his titles. You can claim as many, or as few as you desire right now. However, by claiming at least one you become an adult in the eyes of your Ministry. The trace would be lifted from you and you would be free to make your own choices. You will still need a Mentor for the Muggle world."

"I will claim all four of them." Harry stated. On cue three other goblins walked in, one of them looked rather young and nervous. Each one carried a rune covered box.

"Allow me to present Riplock, he manages the Potter accounts. Beside him is Grimfist, he manages the Peverell accounts. To his left is my son Ragnok, eighth of his name. He will manage the Gryffindor accounts, under my guidance. Since the Emry accounts have sat idle for so long there is no manager for it. I will serve in the position until another can be trained." After they bowed they were gob-smacked to see both Harry and Severus stand returning the bow. "Each of them have brought the Head of House ring for you to claim. Which would you like to start with?"

"Potter, then Gryffindor, Peverell, and finally Emrys." Harry said. "As a claim each Household I have requests for each of you. I leave for Hogwarts soon, by the time I get on the train I need a full inventory of all the vaults I own."

"A wise option. I think a list of transactions for the past ten years would be advisable as well. Considering you claim to not have given permission for withdrawals." Ragnok said. The other goblins were taking notes about everything being said. "I believe we can have all of the vaults inventoried in three weeks." The other three goblins paused in their writings to think for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Thank you. I will also be transferring my residence to the Potter flat in London." Harry explained as the Potter box was pushed in front of him. Curious about it Harry picked it up looking closer at the Runes. He set it down taking out his notes book, he was surprised to see the page he had ripped out had reformed. Taking out the pen he flipped to a page of Hogwarts classes adding Runes to the list.

"Considering what happened upon your entry to the bank this morning I do not believe that is the best place for you to reside." Ragnok stated. "Gryffindor Palace may be your better choice. It is hidden behind wards dating back centuries."

"I will be claiming each property before I leave for school. After seeing them all I will decide, I thank you for your concern." Harry said.

"To claim the Potter ring there is a phrase." Riplock said. "I am afraid that even I do not know what it is."

"It's alright, I know it." Harry ran his fingertips across the stag in the middle of the Potter crest. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He smiled when the lock clicked open. He took out his notebook again setting it beside him with the pen. "May as well keep this out for now." The pen stood up jotting down a few notes. Harry opened the box taking out the Potter ring. "Hello Prongs." he whispered to himself seeing the prancing stag in the bright red stone. "I, Harry James Potter, claim my birthright as the Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter." He slid the ring on his right right finger, the band shrunk down to fit his finger almost instantly.

"Well said Lord Potter." Ragnok said. "You seemed to have done your research." Harry could only nod staring intently at the ring his father had once worn.

"Harry," Severus said to get his attention. "I may not have liked your father, it was well known my hate for him, but I knew him well enough to say that he would be proud of you."

"Quite right, I had the honor of meeting him many times over the years." Riplock said. "I swear you look just like him."

"Thank you." The Gryffindor ring was claimed by a drop of blood on the lock. The band was gold and had a ruby in the center. The Peverell ring was claimed in the same way. It was crafted from silver with a sapphire in the center surrounded by small emeralds. The sapphire looked like it had been carved with the Deathly Hollows symbol.

"Well done." Ragnok complimented. "You have only one left. We do not know how to open this one though. When His Grace neared the end of his life he simply gave the bank this box."

"Thank you." The last box was simple wood but Harry could see the magic radiating off it. He took out the Book of Merlin opening it carefully. After a few moments he nods closing it again hiding it away. He held his hand over the box reciting what he had learned from the book. "I, by right of possession, claim that I am forevermore His Royal Majesty Harry James Potter Gryffindor Peverell Emrys." The lock caught fire taking the rest of the box with it leaving only a silver ring with a large obsidian stone in the center, and an envelope. Harry picked up the ring looking at it carefully. Unlike the others which had taken up his right hand he slid the new ring on his left hand, middle finger.

"Your Grace." The four goblins stood bowing low.

"I expect my friends to call me by my name. Lord Potter if you must." Harry said heaving a sigh. He picked up the letter sticking it in the bag at his side. "I think I need some air."

"Perhaps we should hold off on reviewing your finances for a few days. I believe that it is in your best interest to have a Cleansing ritual done here to remove the blocks on your abilities and whatever other blocks you carry." Ragnok advised.

"Right, first things first though." Harry stood taking the Book of Merlin from his bag again looking through it for a moment. He then turned to Severus. "I made you a promise. I don't go back on my promises." Severus felt the pull of magic and decided to follow it's lead as he stood stepping away from the table to kneel before the young man. "Severus Tobias Snape, in the last several hours you have done more for me than anyone has since I lost my parents. I have decided to appoint you my Chief Royal Adviser and Court Potions Master."

"I accept this honor and will strive to make myself worthy of it for the rest of my days." Severus said, again following the guide of his magic. Harry touched his shoulder and the royal crest appeared on the potion master's chest.

"An impressive command of magic Your- I mean, Lord Potter." Ragnok stated. "Impressive indeed." The others could only nod in agreement making notes on their parchment.

"Now, Cleansing ritual and a visit to the Potter vaults." Harry said sitting back down. Severus moved back to his seat. He knew Harry would keep his promise but he, admittedly, never expected to be protected by the crown.

"Would you like to keep your trust fund vault active or merge it with the main Potter vault?" Riplock asked.

"For now I will keep it active. Does the bank have something I can use in the muggle world instead of having to convert a large amount? I find myself in need of an entire wardrobe and I still have to collect all of my school supplies."

"We do, a great deal of first-gen witches and wizards had the same question. I will have a bank card set up for you before you leave." Ragnok stated. "If I may make a suggestion Lord Potter?" Harry nods for him to continue. "I know enough about your claimed titles to know you have at least three heirloom weapons. The Emrys vault holds the staff, the main Potter vault has the Shield of Justice."

"I will be claiming the sword of Godric Gryffindor in a few weeks." Harry said. "I do not know how to use it though."

"Mr. Longbottom would be your best bet there Your Grace." Severus said. "He comes from a Warrior clan. If I recall his ancestors served the crown as knights."

"Then they will continue to do so. We will make a trip to Longbottom Village before school starts." Harry's pen made a note of it in the book. "I will also need the locations of all properties I now own."

"I will have the list before you leave Lord Potter. The reason I brought up the weapons is that you are allowed to carry them in Hogwarts. Most heirs carry them as signs of their titles, you won't see them unless they allow it or you are carrying your own." Ragnok explained. "Forty Galleons will be taken from one of your vaults to replace all of your keys."

"That is acceptable. Let's get the ritual take care of, then I have shopping to do." After making a few more notes the goblins stood and bowed. Harry returned the bow much to their surprise, again.

"Follow me Lord Potter." Ragnok lead them out into the hall again after Harry put his notebook away. "Now, if you want to get your shopping done we must hurry. The ritual will not take long, but recovering from it takes a bit. If my theory is correct it will hurt."

"I am not worried about pain Lord Ragnok. I have faced more of it than I ever care to admit." He stashed the book away. "May I call for a house elf?"

"Normally I would say no, but I suspect you do not want to risk anything happening to your books while you shop. I will allow it." Ragnok said with a nod.

"Whistle?" The little elf appeared, she had on an apron that seemed like it was covered in chocolate. "I need you to take this up to my room." He took out the bacon package and then handed the bag over to the chocolate covered elf. "Please put it up in my room. I may call you again before we return to the house. There is a lot of shopping to be done."

"Yes Young Sir!" She turned to her Master. "Lord Malfoy stopped by Sir. He requests to see you as soon as you return. I was a bad elf and lied to him. I told him you were out collecting potion plants."

"You did right Whistle. He can not know I have Harry until I know if I can trust him with the information." Severus explained.

"Whistle, do you know if there are any elves bound to the Potter family?" Harry asked, he could see by the look in her big blue eyes she was thinking hard.

"I do not Sir, but I can find out! We elves are all connected. I can ask through our magic." Whistle said proudly.

"Perfect, if any Potter elves respond alert them their their Lord will be inspecting all properties in my name within the next month." Whistle took a small muggle spiral notebook from her apron making a note of it.

"May as well add the other households as well." Severus suggested. "Whistle, add Peverell, Gryffindor, and Emry to your search."

"It will be done Sirs!" She said before popping away with the bag of books. Harry suddenly felt strange without the books. Ever since his return he hadn't been so far from them.

"You did right by sending them away Harry." Severus said. "It was far too risky to keep them on you until you can ward the bag. I will find you a book on Rune Warding while you get your supplies. Consider it your birthday gift."

"Right, I almost forgot that was today." Ragnok grinned at Harry's words. When they finally got to the ritual room Ragnok cleared his throat.

"I will tend to finalizing the keys for you Lord Potter, the bank card as well. I will be back to fetch you after the ritual." without another word he was off. Once out of sight he vanished. He had very little time to get the young man a gift, one worthy of his position.

"How odd?" Harry said.

"He gets like that sometimes." Harry looked at the human woman in the room. "I am Healer Jade. I understand you are in need of a Cleansing, Your Grace?"

"Right, I have a few blocks on my abilities, I also suspect blocks on my magic as well." He explained stepping into the room. "As I told Lord Ragnok, I would rather be called by my name. Though he insists on calling me Lord Potter, you may do the same."

"If you wish Lord Potter." She said. "Strip down to your under clothes and we can get started." Harry hesitated for a moment but he stripped down to his boxers. Jade gasped seeing all of his injuries.

"Bloody hell Harry!" Severus walked over looking at him. "What happened?" Harry looked down seeing the scars and bruises.

"The bruises are from Uncle Vernon and Dudley, same with the scars. Most of the scars came from a belt though." Severus shook his head trying to refrain from hunting the Dursley family to extinction.

"I think a trip to the Wizard Hospital might be in your future Lord Potter." Jade said. "I know a Healer there who would take great care of you. She doesn't care for blood status or such trivial things. She is the only Healer I go to. I was raised by Goblins and carry Goblin blood. So it is hard to find a Healer sometimes." She explained. "Go ahead and lay down in the middle." A line of crystal dust gathered in the circle in the shape of a person. "Right there." Harry laid down having to budge once into position and the circle sealed. "Perfect. Now try to hold still." She went to a podium pushing her magic into crystals in the same configuration as the ones on the floor. After a few moments Harry started to convulse.

"What's happening?!" Severus demanded. "Harry!" He drew his wand but Jade grabbed his arm.

"If you stop it now he will die!" She looked at the boy sadly. "Nothing to do but let the magic run it's course." Severus put his wand away watching helplessly as Harry screamed in silence. Then he realized the cause of it all. The Cleansing was purging the Horcrux from his body. His suspicion was confirmed as Harry's scar split open leaking black ooze and blood. "Never in all my days have I seen such an abomination inside a living host. That poor boy."

"A Horcrux, I had heard of them. Voldemort researched them in an attempt to make himself immortal." Severus said. "I thought it was impossible for one to have a living host though. It will be something to look into."

"There is a name for such a creation?" Jade asked "Such things are disgusting, horrid creations." Harry sat up slowly wiping his forehead with his fingertips. "How do you feel Lord Potter? We can not enter the circle yet. The Ritual is still happening."

"Like I need a bath. It hurt, but I have felt worse before." Once the crystals stopped glowing Jade grabbed a cloth soaked with potions before stepping into the circle cleaning up his forehead. "I do feel better though. There was a block on my magic. A big one I think." She helped him to stand.

"Are you sure? Most people say they would rather face the pain curse than go through the ritual again." She looked him over seeing most of his injuries fading away. "You have an amazing healing ability. You may be able to use it on others as well."

"If I do have such an ability it will show itself when the time is right." He stepped out of the circle weakly. "I do need to do something first." He bent over backwards cracking his spine. When he finally came back up he smiled. "Much better."

"Lord Potter, as a Healer I would like you to avoid using magic for at least three days. If you do use magic, nothing big. Your core needs to stabilize. It won't take more than a few days." Jade wrote out a few notes handing them to the young man. "This is a list of potions that will help restore you to where you should be health wise. I really think going to St. Mungos is a good idea as well. The name is the healer is down at the bottom. Andromeda Tonks is her name."

"I have heard of her." Severus commented. "She is the older cousin of Sirius Black, your Godfather."

"Oh, right. Thank you Healer Jade." He bowed before turning to put on his clothes. "I am really hungry now."

"It is possible?" Jade drew her wand casting a spell at Harry. "Impossible, your core is already stable!" Harry looked at her, it was clear he was confused. "Your core should have needed at least three days to stabilize. Being hungry means you used most of your power to force your core to fix itself at a much faster rate. I would suggest when you finally sit down to eat that you eat as much as your body can handle. Restorative sleep potions will help as well. I am just in shock though, your magic should be out of control."

"That is not surprising. Impossible things seem to happen to him all the time." Severus said, there was a hint of bitterness in his voice but Harry didn't mind it. Once Harry had finished getting dressed he sighed.

"We need to get going. Lord Ragnok said he would be back." Harry said looking around.

"I am sorry for being so late Lord Potter. Finding you a proper birthday gift on such short notice is a difficult talk. I think, however, we have just the thing for you." Ragnok lead them out despite the look of concern in Healer Jade's eyes.

"I do not expect a gift Lord Ragnok. To be honest I have received very few true gifts since that Halloween." Severus knew he would have to work quickly, a book of Runes was not going to be enough.

"You mean to say you have not received any of the toys or gifts people have sent you for the last ten years?" Ragnok asked. "Nothing at all?"

"No, I did not know anyone sent me anything. If something was blocking my mail, how would I go about fixing that?" He asked half to himself and half to his companions.

"Any blocking spells tied to your magic or your person would have broken during the ritual. However, the stuff that had already been sent to you is either lost or in someones care. If that is the case you may be able to press charges." Severus explained. "I will personally look into it." Harry nods as they step into a small office.

"Now, your blood is needed to make the new keys. For added security you can push our magic into the key so only you can use it. Someone keyed to the vault would have to sign a withdrawal form." Ragnok said pointing to a few blocks of gold. Two drops of blood on each block Lord Potter. Then we can get your properties list out of the way. Also, which vault do you want the bank card attached to? You can have a card for each vault if that is your wish."

"Yes, I like that idea." He picked up the dagger splitting his finger open. After dropping his blood on each gold block he watched as the cut closed. The blood seemed to eat away at the gold leaving behind seven different keys.

"Now, because you have so many keys they will be labeled. The Potter keys have a stag. The Gryffindor keys have a lion. The Peverell key has the Deathly Hollows symbol. The Emrys keys are the ones with a crown." Ragnok explained as Harry picked them up.

"Now I wish I hadn't sent the bag with Whistle." He said with a chuckle.

"We have a fix for that Lord Potter." Ragnok said taking a coin bag from the desk. "This will hold what equals to a thousand Galleons. It will remain feather light and can only be opened by you."

"That is perfect." He dropped the keys into the bag then nods. "As for the properties?"

"Right. For the Potter properties you have Godric's Hollow Cottage, that was where the tragedy happened ten years ago. I am told it has become a memorial for your parents." Ragnok explained.

"It is an almost total ruin. I suspect it has gotten worse over the years." Severus said sadly. "If you really want I can take you to see it."

"Thank you Professor. I would like that." Harry said mutely. He had seen it once, and it was a memory he wanted to renew.

"There is Potter Manor which coincidentally resides fairly close to Longbottom Village. Though the Potter and Longbottom families have been friends and allies since the days of King Merlin." Ragnok said sliding him a key with a parchment. "I only know where it is because I had been there once before your parents died."

"Thank you." Harry thought about it carefully. "I think visiting Potter Manor will give us a good excuse to take a trip to Longbottom Village."

"Quite right, it is protocol. When visiting another noble's land to meet them in person and normally provide a gift of some sort. Although, considering the Longbottom's are allies to the Potter house I do not think a gift is needed. A rare or exotic plant for Heir Longbottom may be exactly what he needs." Severus explained. Harry was happy to have someone who knew more than he did.

"I agree." Harry said with a nod. "I think we will leave the other properties for the moment. I need to go to my vaults. I still also need to get the bank cards."

"Of course." the door popped open and a goblin peeked in. "Ah, I believe your gift is ready." he stood walking to the door coming back with a large wooded crate. When Harry looked inside he gasped.

"Is that a dragon egg?" He asked curiously.

"It is, we breed smaller versions. This one is a Norwegian Ridgeback. They make wonderful house guards and can carry much larger packages. Once they bond to a person they are loyal for life. To hatch it all you need to do is put it in a roaring fireplace, crate and all. It is spelled to increase the heat as the box burns."

"It seems I will need to study how to raise a dragon." Harry said. "Thank you Ragnok, this- I have never received such a gift."

"We can hatch it tonight if you wish Harry." Severus stated. "I have a fireplace large enough for that." Harry nods unable to take his eyes off the egg.

"Now, your ring will act as a portkey to take you to the properties you want. Once you claim the wards you can bring Master Snape with the ring. Or one of the Potter Elves will be able to bring him." Ragnok said.

"So there are Potter elves. It is good to know. I will need to summon all of the elves bound to each of my households." He said to himself.

"Indeed. Follow me and I will take you down to the vaults. Which ones do you want to visit today?" Severus looked at Harry, it was clear they were having a silent conversation.

"The main vault for each title. Any books or trunks will be removed today. I wish I had a way to carry everything." He said thinking about Hermione's beaded bag they used while they were hiding. "I miss Hermione." He muttered to himself.

"Soon Harry, soon." Severus said as they began to follow the High King towards the vaults.

* * *

Okay! So, the Muse seems to be favoring this story at the moment. I will be focusing on this one for the time being and will work on the others when the Muse allows me.


	3. Chapter 3 Pt 1

I have returned! After several months of emotionally distressful situations, I have returned to my writings.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except that which is my own creation of this story.

On with Chapter 3!

* * *

The trip down into the caverns of the bank was quick and made Harry regret eating breakfast. Once they stepped out by the high-security vaults Harry looked at the dragon he had stolen when they needed a quick escape from the bank. Ragnok went to grab the noise makers but Harry stopped him. "I want to try something." Ragnok looked at him curiously but picked one up anyway. Harry scowled but positioned himself behind a pillar. "~Hello Noble One.~"

"~Speaker, Hello.~" She lifted her head sniffing around. "~Why do you hide?~"

"~Honestly I did not know if this would work. I need to access my vaults on the other side of here. With me is High King Ragnok and Severus Snape. Will you allow us to pass? I swear I am only after vaults I control.~" he stepped out from behind the pillar.

"~You smell of death and time. How many times have you crossed from the world of the living boy?~"

"~Too many times, I am on my last chance. Last time I was in the bank I admit to breaking in, my friends and I stole something tainted with horribly dark magic. We rode out of here on your back, however you looked a lot worse than you do now.~" He moved closer to her, she put her head back down and he touched her snout causing her to huff at him.

"~I do not mind if you and yours pass. I really hate those noise makers. Do you think you can do something about them? I can see magic and I know who belongs down here and who doesn't. I am blind, not useless.~" he laughed listening to her.

"~I will try, can't make any promises. I will, however, do what I can to find more Speakers to work for the bank. That way you can have some interaction.~" He said petting her gently. She settled down relaxing and drifted off to her nap. "Wow, that really worked" he went back over to Severus and Ragnok. "She asks that you get rid of these noise makers. She says that she may be blind but she is not useless, she knows who belongs down here and who doesn't." Ragnok looked at the dragon then to Harry.

"I will see that it is done. When she was rescued it was my father's way of keeping her in line. It is a habit now." Ragnok dropped it back in the box and lead them over to the vaults. "Do you think employing other parseltongues would be wise?"

"I am surprised you did not have them here before. Although I did not expect it to work as well as it did. It would go a long way to dispelling the belief parseltongue is a mark of dark magic." Harry said looking at the vaults. "Severus? Suddenly I feel my age. It is a fear, the same fear I felt when I first discovered magic."

"The unknown is a subject worthy of fear Lord Potter. We goblins believe fear tells us our hearts are still beating and we live to fight another day. It is when we lose our fear of the unknown that we pass into a state of mind dangerous for any living thing." Ragnok said.

"He is right, conquering ones fear is healthy, but overcoming your fear of the unknown is something you only do after death." Severus said laying a hand on his shoulder. "Remember that you don't have to do this alone."

"Yeah," Taking a deep breath Harry began to relax. "Alright. What is first?"

"The first vault is the Emrys' vault. Gryffindor is next followed by Peverell, then Potter. Now I feel I should explain something about being the next King of Mages. You can not claim that fully until your coronation after your fifteenth year. You will still be able to make preparations by naming your Court and such. Only those who know about your title and the other members of your Court will know about the crest mark. When you decide to come out publicly about your position as the next King I would recommend having your entire Court established and present." Ragnok stated as Harry picked out the crown key from his pouch.

"That will make things easier. There are some who I suspect will have issues with my position." Harry said looking at the door he stopped looking at it curiously. "This is strange, did you know there was writing on the door?"

"Writing? How curious, I did not. Can you read it, Lord Potter?" Ragnok asked when Harry pointed it out to him.

"I think so." Looking at the writing he watched the letters shift and change in front of his eyes. "Enter alone and mind your step." He scratched his head after reading it. "If I am not out in ten minutes, have my friend over there melt the door." Ragnok wanted to laugh but the look in Harry's eyes made him hesitate.

"Harry," Severus looked at him. "As your adviser, I must express my obvious concerns."

"I know. However, you and I both know that messing with ancient magic is foolish and could seriously damage what we are here to do. The writing has to be very old. The words had to translate five times before I could read it." Harry replied. "But thank you for expressing your concern." He looked at Severus before turning back to the door. "I feel this is the right thing to do." He inserted the key into the lock. "I am His Royal Majesty Harry James Potter Gryffindor Peverell Emrys, and I claim what is mine." he turned the key and vanished.

"Harry!" Severus shouted.

"I believe he is inside the vault." Ragnok said. "All we can do now is wait."

* * *

"Damn it!" Harry said as he fell forward.

"I suppose you neglected to take the time to read my warning?" Harry looked up to the source of the voice. It was a painting of two young men.

"No, I read it." He walked over to the painting kneeling. "King of Mages, Merlin Emrys."

"What gave it away? The plaque on the bottom of the painting perhaps?" One of the men questioned with a laugh, the other man slapped his arm to get him to stop laughing.

"No, it would be the grimoire from the reaper world under your arm, and the ring on your hand. The same book and ring that now belong to me." Harry stands holding out his hand revealing the rings. "I do not carry your grimoire or mine with me until I have a bag warded enough to carry them without fear."

"I see, trust in those books young man. Do this and they will never steer you wrong. I see more than my ring, what other titles do you carry?" Merlin asked curiously. "They look familiar to me."

"I would hope so, I am Prince Harry James Potter Gryffindor Peverell Emrys." Harry said with a deep bow.

"Ah, I thought so. The heir to three of the original knights, four if you count me. You see Harry, the grimoire would not have gone to you if you did not have some connection to my blood." Merlin explained. "Now, I believe you came here to claim the contents of the vault." Harry looked around seeing only a few small piles of gold.

"I suppose so. I am prepared to pass it over if that is your desire. The grimoire and the title are more than I ever thought about. Taking your painting with me would not be a bad idea. It would be useful to talk to someone who knows more about magic than I probably ever will." Harry said with a sigh.

"Do not doubt yourself Harry. You hold great power inside you." Harry looked at the other man for a moment before kneeling once more.

"Forgive me, Your Grace. I am a fool." Harry said. "I was raised muggle, I should have realized who you were. High King Arthur, Wielder of the Mighty Excalibur, King of Camelot, Emperor of Avalon."

"Nice to see someone recognizes my titles." Arthur said with a smile. "Raise, I am long gone. Kneeling to a painting does you no good."

"It is a matter of honor." Harry said as he stood. "Like I said, I was raised muggle."

"I understand. My husband sometimes forgets I had no magic of my own." Arthur said with a smile.

"Husband?" Harry repeated curiously. "You two were married?"

"Of course. Remember something very important Harry, love is a magic all its own. We were Soul Mates." Merlin said. "I avoided him for a long time. When I died the first time my Reaper explained it to me and when I went back I swore I would not deny myself anymore."

"Deny yourself how?" Harry asked.

"I detested violence. Honestly, I tried to avoid it at all costs and it cost me everything I loved." Merlin said taking Arthur's hand.

"How did you overcome that? I have more than one Soul Mate, one of them is also on her last chance. How do I face her? How do I face any of them?" Harry asked sitting down in one of the piles of coin.

"Harry, I do not envy you. How did you manage more than one?" Arthur asked.

"One of my deaths was caused by someone I thought was my best friend. He tried to annihilate my soul, instead, he shredded it. The Reapers were able to collect all but four pieces." Harry started to explain.

"I see, the four pieces found their way into your young ladies." Merlin said. "Because you can't sever two souls without one of them dying first there was nothing they could do about it."

"I guess so. I know two of them died not long after me. One of them will retain her memories but my Reaper would not tell me who she was. Then when I was getting ready to leave to return to my younger body she told me one of my soul mates was my other best friend." Harry said sitting back against the gold.

"Harry, I want you to listen to me. Before I returned to life I watched what happened after my death." Merlin said. "I had to watch the man I loved more than anything in the world die, in front of his terrified people. At the time our union would have been frowned upon. I did not know it at the time but he loved me too. My name was the last thing he said before he was beheaded. It was then that I realized I had to accept that by avoiding the fighting and being afraid of my own darkness I let it grow in others. Now I am not saying go out and slaughter your enemies, but do not be afraid to fight back. As for your young ladies, start with the one who retains her memories. She will be able to help you get closer to the others. You are lucky that one of them was your best friend in your previous attempt."

"True, Hermione was great, I don't think I would have survived as long as I did without her." Harry said with a sigh. "By the way, is there a way I can let them out there know I'm alright before they have a dragon melt the door?"

"Of course. On the back wall is my staff, once you take it the rest of the vault will appear and you can leave." Merlin said. "I wonder though, were you serious about taking us with you?"

"Of course, Leara said it is always useful to have someone to bounce ideas off." Harry stood walking up to the staff. "It doesn't look anything like the sketches I've seen over the years."

"A spell of mine. That staff also serves as proof of the claim to the title. Use it wisely Harry. It is very powerful and people have killed over it." Merlin said, on it's own the painting turned. With a nod of encouragement from both of them, Harry grabbed the staff in both hands. A bright white light filled the room. A pulse of pure magic flooded out from Harry. Outside the vault, the pulse of magic knocked both Severus and Ragnok to the floor.

* * *

"The Staff of Kings has been claimed." Ragnok said as he stood brushing himself off. "You protect that boy Severus Snape, with your life if you must." He says as he looks at the vault door. "Such power. He will make a great Mage."

"Yes, he will be. I will make sure of it." Severus said. The vault door clicked and slowly opened, Harry stood on the other side. He wore a long wine-red robe with a white phoenix in flight across his back and two golden dragons down the front. In his hand was a staff with five crystals at the top. The wood was nearly black but on closer inspection, one would see tiny scales. Severus knelt down, this time Ragnok did the same.

"No Severus, Ragnok. Stand and relax." When they both stood Harry sighed. "Severus, unless I demand it of you, do not kneel to me again if you can avoid it. I have come to consider you family. Ragnok, I hope I can count you among my friends." Harry said softly.

"It is a friendship I see lasting a very long time." Ragnok said with a nod. "Should we be expecting other interesting events?"

"I do not think so. I just had a very enlightening conversation with Merlin and King Arthur." Harry looked down at his robes. "Until I need you again." The robes and the staff vanished. "Hmm, it worked." He looks at Ragnok. "There is a painting in this vault I need to be moved to my trust vault. For now, that is the only one the public knows I have. I will be having Severus's elf come to collect it later. It needs to remain covered, per their wishes."

"I will arrange it myself. Shall we continue?" Ragnok asked gesturing to the other vaults. Harry looked back at the vault for a moment before closing the door.

"Harry, are you alright?" Severus asked looking at him.

"I think the four of us have a lot to discuss." Harry walked to another vault and took out his keys. "L-Let's continue."

"No, Harry, I think that was a little too much for you right now. Why don't we go get lunch and go from there? You are dangerously close to exhausting yourself, again." Severus said laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Your Adviser is right, food is exactly what you need right now." Ragnok said.

"Perhaps you are right. That was a lot of magic." Harry said putting his keys away. "We still have some shopping to get done today."

"After lunch Harry. I promise." Severus said Harry was confused to hear a slight pleading in his voice.

"Alright, lunch first." Harry says turning to them. "I still need those cards."

"Right, let us return to the main floor and you can sign for them." Ragnok said leaving them back to the carts. Harry paused to bid farewell to the dragon before they began the trip to the surface.

* * *

Getting the bank cards was a far easier task than Harry expected. By signing a few papers and a drop of blood on each card Harry was all set to use them. They headed to the Leaky Cauldron to talk over lunch. They were able to find a table in the corner, which Severus warded against eavesdropping and lip reading. "I need to collect something from Knockturn Alley. As a Lord of multiple houses, you need to dress the part. Go to Twilfit and Tattings and explain to the woman at the register that you need Hogwarts robes and seven sets of acromantula silk robes." Severus said. "The measurements and such will take a while. If I am not back in time to collect you where will you go next?"

"I was considering going to get Her. She is important to me and I do not think I can do it without her." Severus knew he was talking about Hedwig.

"Good idea. I suppose I can trust you to collect a snake for my work?" Harry looked at him with obvious concern for the snake. "I do not plan on killing it, in fact, it will be well cared for. What I need from it are the shed feathers. I am hoping you will be able to explain that to it." Severus said putting Harry as ease.

"Of course. Wait, you said feathers, what kind is it?" Harry asked curiously.

"It is a Quetzalcoatl. Though I doubt they realize what it is. It does not have it's feathers yet. You care a lot about snakes, don't you?" Severus asked.

"It was just a few weeks ago in this timeline. I wish I had gone back to that point. That is a memory I would have loved to relive. We were at the reptile house at the zoo." Harry said seemingly lost in the memory.

"I can't imagine your relatives were happy about having to bring you." Severus commented.

"No, it got worse. I got to talking to this snake. Dudley saw and ran up pushing me to the floor. He climbed onto the rail and was pressed up against the glass. I made the glass vanish and he fell in the snake's pond. The snake escaped and everyone panicked. It got even better when Dudley discovered the glass had reappeared and he was trapped. The numerous beatings I got confused me the first time. Now I know it was because I had done magic." Harry continued. "I think if I had gone back to that point I would have earned the beatings I got."

"I would have enjoyed seeing you terrify that wretched woman with a snake. She hated them when she was a child. This Quetzalcoatl is still very young so we won't know if it is male or female until it matures a bit more." Severus explained. "During their first year they look like any other snake, but after a year they start growing feathers, the males will grow beautiful wings."

"I think I remember reading about them last time. They are often mistaken as dragons, right? I bet it is because of their wings." Harry said with a small laugh. "If I can get it I will."

"Now, if you are anything like your mother then you enjoy reading." Severus mentioned.

"I had to try to fail so Dudley would look better in school." Harry said looking into his drink. "Since I don't have to go back there, and I doubt I will be friends with Ronald, I will be putting a lot more effort into my classes."

"That is a good plan. Since you know more about what you will be facing I expect you to study hard. We will get you a trunk that will suit you better than the standard student trunk. Five rooms should do well for you, one of them being a private study room." Severus thought aloud. "Perhaps a training room as well, they are charmed to prevent spells from doing permanent damage."

"I want one with a library. I plan on getting a lot of books while I am here." Harry said as he looked around. "I wish I knew the spells Hermione used to make her bag. She carried everything in it while we were on the run."

"You will see her again soon Harry. You have time to make things right. You have time to make sure we all have a bright future." Severus said. "For now I believe Whistle will be glad to pop here to collect your purchases and bring them back to the house."

"I guess, but I wouldn't want to take her away from her other duties." Harry said quickly.

"Do you know anything about house-elves?" Severus asked seriously.

"No, I really should learn." Harry admitted. "Maybe then I wouldn't have lost Dobby."

"I may have a way to take care of that little elf of yours." Severus said. "Lucius may seem like a cruel man but he had to keep up appearances. He loves his family and because of that he could never show it." Harry looked at him a tad confused. "You saw the Headmaster's memories concerning Tom?" Harry nods. "He was conceived on Amortentia. He was cursed to never feel love, thus he does not understand it. He hates it and forbids his subjects from expressing it in his presence." Severus said cautiously. "We will continue that conversation later. When it comes to Lucius he will do whatever he can to keep his family safe. We can use that to your advantage when it comes to Dobby, I must go see them today and while I am there I plan on speaking to him about his loyalties."

"Right. As much as I do not care for him, I know you do. They are your family, and I will do whatever I can to keep them safe. Perhaps there is a way to take the mark away. It would be a good place to start for those who were forced to take the mark." Harry thought aloud. "I really could use my notebook."

"I am aware of that. For now, it is safer at my house. Tonight I will teach you to ward a bag properly, your trunk will have basic wards but I will teach you a few that will work better." Severus said. They ate a quick, but filling lunch of hot roast beef sandwiches with glasses of cool pumpkin juice, before going their separate ways to get the shopping started.

* * *

Harry walked down the street, as he approached Twilfit and Tattings his breath caught. He looked over at a window to his reflection. Again he felt his physical age. His reflection changed to the form of his previous attempt. "Look, you walked into the forest knowing you were going to your death. You faced Tom without fear. Now that you have a chance to make things right you are afraid?" The reflection said.

"Draco and his mother are in there." Harry said. "I don't know if I can do this by myself. Everything I have faced since coming back has been with Severus."

"You are afraid to screw it up. To make a mistake? Perhaps say the wrong thing and get yourself in trouble with Leara?" The reflection asked. When Harry nods the reflection sighs. "Think about it like this, at this point you know more spells than he does. You have a wand and I doubt he does. Besides, this is the perfect chance to put Draco to good use. Last time everything he said was taken as truth no matter how foolish it sounded. So if he starts telling people you were raised with both muggle and magic it won't be suspicious. You did promise Severus that we would try to save them. This is a good place to start. Before the house rivalry gets in the way."

"I guess I am being an idiot. Talking to myself like this." Harry said. Looking around he realized no one was paying him any attention. "Divine Intervention?"

"You could say that. Sometimes, even in the magical world, hearing voices is a good thing. In this case, I am the representation of your magic." The reflection said.

"Leara." Harry sighs in relief. "Alright, let's get this done." Harry walked away from his reflection walking into the shop.

"Be with you in a moment dear. Hogwarts robes right?" A young woman asked as she worked on Draco's sleeve.

"My guardian says I need acromantula silk robes too. Something about dressing to fit my station." Harry said looking around. "Not sure what he meant by it."

"A lot of that depends on your station." Narcissa said walking over to him. "My Draco is the heir to a Lord so his clothes are more expensive and of a better quality than your typical robes. As a Lord's wife, I am expected to wear only the best."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. I only learned about my titles a few days ago, you see, my parents died when I was little and I was sent to live with some friends of theirs. They died a few days ago and I was sent to live with a close friend of theirs. Oh, forgive me, I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself properly. Lord Harry James Potter Gryffindor Peverell Emrys, at your service." He said with a slight bow. The image of his older reflection in one of the mirrors was laughing as he saw Draco's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Oh dear, those are some heavy titles." Narcissa said. "It is quite a mouthful too. You may want to consider shortening it. It makes introductions easier."

"You just have to remember to use your full titles in business meeting introductions. Titles like those carry a lot of weight in our world." Draco said. "Mother is right, though. Introducing yourself as Lord Potter would be enough, at least most of the time. Your rings will guide you when you need to go for full titles."

"Quite right Draco. Lordship rings have always had a magic of their own. For your robes, have you considered the colors you want?" She asked.

"Not really, I was told once by a muggle friend that I was a 'walking fashion disaster'." Harry said with a laugh. "I suppose I could use some help."

"You should have my mother help you Lord Potter. When it comes to fashion you could have no better guide than the Lady of house Malfoy." Draco said with pride.

"Lady Malfoy? Why does that name sound familiar?" Harry asked himself aloud. "Oh, Severus mentioned it." Looks over at Draco. "That would make you Draco Malfoy, his Godson right?"

"Yes, how do you know Uncle Severus?" Draco asked curiously.

"He is my ward, despite his emancipation he decided to stay in my custody until he turns 15 at the least." Severus said walking in. "Lord Potter, I see you have met Narcissa and Draco. I trust you have been on your best behavior."

"He has been just fine Severus. I was just about to offer to help him picking the colors of his formal robes." Narcissa said as she walked over to give him a very brief hug. "You should have told us you acquired a ward. Lucius went to see you this morning but he never said anything about it."

"It was by his late guardians that it remained a secret until he claimed his titles." Severus said. "I plan on going to see him after we finish the shopping."

"I will pass that on to him. I believe he was complaining about the fact that you have been avoiding him." She said.

"When my late guardians died a week ago they left him an entire greenhouse full of potion plants. I have been trying to help him, but I am afraid my thumbs are quite black." Harry said with a sigh. "Please Severus, I told you to just call me Harry. I am a Lord only by title right now. I really have no idea what I am supposed to do."

"Oh my!" Narcissa gasped. "That simply won't do. Why don't you two come to the Manor tomorrow? I will see what I can teach Lord Potter before he starts Hogwarts.

"Please, I would rather you both call me Harry." Harry said looking over at a pair of dragon hide boots.

"Well Harry, it seems you have good taste." Narcissa said leading him over to get a better look.

"He is going to regret asking her for help. She will outfit him from the skin out, top to bottom." Draco said. "So that is Harry Potter? He is the one who-"

"Yes." Severus said interrupting him. "It is not something he likes talking about."

"Why not? He stopped You-Know-Who that night." Draco said looking at him as he was brought over to look at other things.

"Draco, that young man remembers that night. How would you feel if people were constantly praising you because of the night your parents died sacrificing themselves in the hopes of saving you?" Severus asked causing Draco to look deep in thought. "I have been protecting him from it most of the morning because of a spell I put on him this morning."

"I don't know if I would be able to handle that. I will tell everyone else to lay off him about it when we get to school. " Draco said. "How did you become his guardian?"

"My previous guardians passed away and they left me to him in their Wills. He used to come by to get potions stuff. I guess they figured I would be safe with him until my birthday so I could be emancipated." Harry said walking back towards them.

"Alright Mr. Malfoy, your fitting is all set. I will have your robes sent to you within the week. Your turn Lord Potter." The woman said. "If I heard correctly you said Hogwarts robes and formal ones too?"

"That's right. Severus seems to think I will need them." He said stepping up to the woman.

"He will need two sets by tomorrow morning. I hope that won't be an issue." Severus said looking at the boots Harry had picked.

"I don't think so. Any special colors?" The woman asked as she watched the tape fly around measuring him.

"Two sets each of the black, green, and navy blue. Then another set of the dark red." Narcissa said. "You may also want to consider arranging for casual clothes Harry." He nods and stares off ahead closing his eyes. He drowned out the conversations behind him as he went over things in his head.

* * *

"Alright, Lord Potter, you are all set." Harry opened his eyes and looked around. Draco and his mother were already gone.

"Oh, thank you." Harry said stepping down. "I think she had the right idea about the colors."

"She normally does. Perhaps with you to dress up she will lay off me." Severus said. Harry looked at his hand deep in thought. "Best not to disregard what they say. When they speak it is best to listen."

"Well, one of them is saying that you need measurements too. It seems to think you need new robes too." Harry said it was clear to Severus which ring was communicating with him. "You did say to listen to the rings."

"I did, didn't I?" Severus sighed stepping up to the platform. "Looks like I am in need for a new robe as well."

"Not a problem Severus. Anything special in mind Lord Potter? I know how hard it can be to understand what the rings are saying. It happens in here all the time." She said as her tape started on Severus.

"Acromantula silk, two sets. One of them has to be your standard black, but the other one has to be the darkest blue you have." Severus opened his mouth to argue but Harry held up his hand, it happened to be the left hand, the hand bearing the Emrys ring. "Consider them a gift for everything you've done."

"I see that I do not have much of a choice in the matter." Severus said with a sigh. "Very well."

"I should have both of them ready the same time as Lord Potter's." She said after the measurements were taken. "Lord Potter, for casual clothes you may want to consider going to see a friend of mine. She works out of a muggle store but if you flash her one of your rings she will take you to a magical part of the store and get you all set."

"Thank you, I think I will. I do not think I caught your name." Harry said softly.

"Oh, Miranda Tattings, at your service." She said with a smile. "Lord Potter, when the time comes, I would be honored to make them."

"I am not-" Harry started. Severus sighed.

"Mage Sight, normally I can tune it out but I can see you, very clearly." Walking over to the desk she took out a plain silver chain. "This should help you keep it hidden. Like I said, I would be honored to make the robes for your court." Only after Severus cast all of the detection spells he knew did Harry finally put it around his neck hiding it under his shirt. "That is better."

"That is what the blue set is for. I don't suppose you have to be told this remains a secret." Harry said after a moment. "I do not want this getting out until I am ready."

"Of course not. Unlike some people, I know how to keep quiet about things. You wouldn't believe the conversations I have heard in here. Over the years I had to develop a mindscape just to keep things locked away." Miranda said. She sat down sighing. "I love what I do here, but people often forget I am here when they come in. They start talking about things that no one else should ever hear. My mother said she had the same problem. I think it was what drove my mother to insanity."

"Do you report criminal activity?" Severus asked curiously.

"I do, never amounts to much." She said with a sigh.

"Who exactly do you report it to?" Harry asked. "I am only asking because of something my previous guardians said about the war and the Ministry."

"Corban Yaxley. I don't trust him, but he is the only one who is willing to see me." Miranda explains. "Do you have someone better in mind?"

"Yes, anyone but him. He is a Death Eater. Go to Madam Bones. Refuse to see anyone else. She will take your information seriously." Harry said confidently. "Though it would be best to send her a letter first with your concerns about the previous reporting. She may have you explain those as well."

"He makes a valid point, Amelia Bones is a firm but fair woman." Severus said looking at a pair of boots like Harry's. "She will listen to what you have to say. Do not spare her the details. The more you tell her the better. It will help her to get things taken care of."

"Right." Miranda said standing. Severus made a fuss when he found out the cost of the gifted robes. Harry made it worse when he grabbed the boots that Severus had been eyeing. "I would recommend purchasing 'Aura Suppression and Blocking' by Agatha Blaine. It will help you to learn to control your aura so it is less visible to people with this ability. For now, the chain will be enough."

"Indeed, thank you Miranda. I will keep your recommendation in mind." Harry turned to the door but then turned back. "Next time I come here I may be with another, someone I plan on giving the title of First Knight."

"If you owl me the day before I will make sure to close early to dedicate my time properly." Miranda said. "Have you considered when you want to reveal yourself?"

"I can't have a coronation until after I turn 15, but I suspect a coronation is going to take some time to prepare. During my fourth year perhaps. That will give me time to assign my court and such." Harry said thinking about it. During his time in the Durs-kaban prison, he had plenty of time to consider a plan

"That is a very good plan." Miranda wrote a quick note casting it away into the register. "When you come for your fitting for fourth year I will have the design for your coronation robes."

"That is one less thing we have to take care of. Thank you Miranda." Severus said. After saying their farewells he followed Harry out into the street. "I am proud of how you handled things with Lady Malfoy and Draco."

"You had that planned, didn't you?" Harry asked with a slight smile. "You knew they would be there."

"I did, but I have to admit I did not expect you to do so well. Even Cissa was surprised by your manners and the way you spoke with them." Severus explained. "When she starts giving you lessons I would recommend you take them to heart."

"I plan to. Severus, have you ever had a familiar bond?" Harry asked as they made their way to Magical Menagerie.

"I did once. It was a very long time ago. Do you feel something?" Severus asked looking at the shop. "The thing to remember is that you are not the same little boy who came here last time. You are more aware of magic and how it effects you. When your magic speaks do not ignore it."

"I do feel something, strange, it is coming from more than one-" Harry stopped and turned hiding behind Severus. "Bloody hell." Severus looked around backing up with Harry until they were in a gap between two buildings. Coming out of Ollivander's Fine Wands was a bushy-haired Hermione Granger with Professor Minerva McGonagall.

"Bloody hell is right Harry." Severus said. "Did you ever tell Miss Granger what day you came here the first time?"

"Yes, a few times. She seemed surprised. Now I know why. She was here too, but she never saw me." Harry said. "Is it important?"

"Look at her, if she was aware of the shifted timelines she would be looking for you." Severus said moving just enough for Harry to observe her. She looked like she was discussing something with her parents. "She is not searching for you."

"Meaning she is not the Soul Mate who knows. I can clearly see she is my Soul Mate. I see my aura in hers. It's sort of floating around it, I guess that means its not fully bound to her yet." Harry said. "Would it be wrong to go talk to them?"

"For now let's wait." Severus said. A beautiful white owl flew out of the shop to Hermione tugging on a bit of her hair. "On second thought, go claim your owl Harry." He stepped aside and Harry rushed out leaping over a cart.

"Hedwig no!" Harry held up his arm and whistled loudly causing Hedwig to turn, she released the young girl flying over to him. "It is not the time for that yet my friend." He whispered to her after drawing her close to him. "Soon, but not yet."

"Lord Potter, I told you that leaving her cage unlocked was a bad idea." Severus walked over to them with a cage in his hand.

"Sorry Severus- I mean Professor. I thought I had locked it tight." Harry said catching on to what he was saying. "I just didn't expect her to react like that. Do you have any idea what caused it?"

"Perhaps your owl thinks this girl's familiar is in the shop waiting for her." Severus suggested. "That is the only thing I can think of."

"Severus, what is the meaning of this?" Minerva inquired.

"Minerva, allow me to present Lord Harry James Potter Gryffindor Peverell Emrys. My ward. Though he seems content to go by Lord Potter at the moment." Severus explained carefully. "You know what she meant to me." He said carefully. "I had to make sure it was handled properly."

"I see. Forgive me Lord Potter, but you look just like your father. He was a student of mine, along with your mother." Minerva said. Harry looked at her as if confused for a moment.

"Forgive me, but you look very familiar to me. I can't quite place it

"Harry, this is Professor Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, and deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. She also teaches Transfiguration." Severus explained. "She remained very close to your parents after they graduated."

"That is one of the classes I am looking forward to. Professor Snape tells me my father excelled at the subject." Harry said with a smile. "My Mum too."

"Indeed, they were both exceptionally gifted students. I am sorry for your loss." Minerva said. "I look forward to teaching you. Allow me to introduce Hermione Granger and her parents Daniel and Emma."

"Hello." Hermione said. "Your owl is beautiful."

"Thank you. Have you gone to look for a pet yet?" Harry asked. "If Hedwig thinks there is a match for you then you should at least look. She is very smart."

"Not yet. I am muggle-born so I would have to find something that won't stand out." Hermione said with a sigh.

"Don't worry. My mum was first generation too. As Professor McGonagall said, she was 'exceptionally gifted'." Harry said.

"First generation?" Hermione asked.

"I do not like the term muggle-born It sounds like an insult to me." Harry explained. "I need to go pay for Hedwig. Would you like to join me? If your parents and the professor don't mind of course."

"I think that would be a good idea Lord Potter." Minerva said. "Perhaps a cat? It would blend in with a non-magical area." After a moment she continued "Have you considered how you want the other professors to address you?"

"Not really, I only found out about my titles today. Do you have any suggestions?" He asked it was the one thing he hadn't thought about.

"Well, your roll call will have your official title. In the past, those in your situation would go by Miss or Mr. So addressing you as Mr. Potter would be best." Harry thought about it, after a moment he grinned.

"I think that would fine, Aunt Minnie." He said. The stern professor looked at him in shock. "That's why you look familiar, I met you before my parents died."

"I- I can't believe you remember that. You only called me that once before they died." Minerva said. "You will have to refrain from calling me that in public."

"Of course. I will try, I can not promise I won't slip up." Harry said before taking Hermione by the hand leading her inside the pet shop. Harry paid for the owl, the shop keeper could only laugh at Hedwig's actions.

"She is a very proud girl. You are right, she has helped me match young witches and wizards for a while. I will miss her." He said. "If you let her I suspect she will guide your new friend where her match is." Harry nods opening the cage. Hedwig flew out going to the top of a cabinet tapping it with her beak. "I see, I am not-" Hedwig interrupted him with another more forceful tap of her beak.

"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked.

"No, she seems to think Crookshanks belongs with you. He is a very odd cat. Ugly little beast to be honest. He likes to hide in that cabinet. " The man said walking over to the cabinet opening it to reveal a large ginger colored cat with a squished face. He was laying on a pile of tattered blankets. "This is Crookshanks, he is a very picky cat." Crooks looked up at them before sitting up. He looked at Hermione then up to Hedwig before jumping into the young witch's arms purring. "I'll be damned."

"It seems Hedwig was right after all." Harry said. "Like I said Hermione, she is a very smart owl."

"Crookshanks, would you like to come home with me?" Hermione asked, the half- kneazle looked at her licking her nose gently. "I take that as a yes."

"As an apology for Hedwig for pulling on you like that, will you allow me to buy a bed and a care kit for him?" Harry asked.

"I guess that would be alright." Hermione said as she looked at the deep orange eyes of the cat in her arms. Harry watched happily as Hermione's magic shot out from her chest wrapping around the cat. "What was that feeling?" She asked.

"That was a familiar bond." Harry said. The snowy owl hooted happily before flying back into her cage for a nap.

"Right young man. Was there something else you needed?" He asked Harry.

"My guardian asked me to pick up a snake for him. He said he reserved it, it's for Professor Snape." Harry said.

"Right, I will find the form." He walked off to the register and Harry went over to the snakes looking at them. Looking around he smiled looking back at the various tanks. "~Hello.~"

"~Hello Speaker.~" They all replied. "~Do you know what kind your guardian is looking for?~" One of them went on to say.

"~I do, a Quetzalcoatl.~" He said. "~Would you know where I would find it?~"

"~That would be me you seek Speaker.~" Harry looked in the direction of the male voice at an open tank and walked over. "~You are looking for me?~"

"~I am, your scales are beautiful, they look like fire.~" He said. "~Though I hear they will be covered by feathers soon.~"

"~Yes, it is my hope they are as colorful as my scales.~" It said. "~What does your guardian need me for? I have seen many leave here, all are afraid to be killed for potions.~"

"~He does need you for potions, but only your feathers when you shed them. He has promised you will be well cared for. I will make sure you live a good long life.~" Harry said. A little boy ran by him pushing him forward. Half his body fell into the tank and the, soon to be winged, serpent slithered up his arm and under his shirt coming out of the top to look him in the eyes. After a moment Harry sighed as a second familiar bond settled over him. "Bloody hell."

"Harry, I see you found the snake I was talking about." Severus said walking over to him.

"I am sorry Severus, this little one and I have bonded." Harry said looking up at him.

"Well, while unexpected I admit I am not overly surprised. You have a special way with snakes." Severus said. "Let's get this one paid for. Miss Granger is waiting for you, she said you were buying that cat a bed and care kit. She picked them out already."

"Good, do you have a tank for this one, or will we be needing to buy one?" He asked looking at the various empty tanks. "As much as I love snakes I find myself lacking the knowledge to take care of one."

"I have everything we need at the house." Severus said leading him back to the register. "It seems my ward accidentally bonded with the snake I was after Edward."

"Good heavens. You must have very strong magic for more than one bond young man." He said. "I couldn't help but overhear that you don't know how to take care of a snake. I do provide young people with a basic guidebook written for the various animals I offer here." He handed Harry and Hermione two different books and then rang up the rest of Harry's purchases. With a swipe of one of his cards, Harry and Hermione walked out with all of their purchases.

So, I decided to leave it here for now. This chapter will be in at least two parts. I love writing but I have a very horrible case of Writers ADD. With a new writing program, I am getting my thoughts organized, to make it easier to keep track of things. Plus I have a wonderful friend who is helping me to keep myself on track. She takes all my notes for me when my brain goes a thousand miles a second. She has also been great when it comes to keeping my muse on track.

Hopefully, I will be posting on one of my stories every other week. More often if the muse agrees with me.

As always do not forget to review!


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